The present invention relates in general to the construction of structures that have a surface which reduces or can be repaired to reduce the impact of visual imperfections and, more particularly to walls that have at least one surface that has been marred or defaced by graffiti.
1. Review of the Prior Art
Prior to this invention, the appearances of structures, such as walls, telephone poles, or guardrails that had been defaced by graffiti, were improved by simply painting over the markings with paint. Often times these treatments were just as disturbing to the human eye as the original graffiti. This particularly true in areas where has been multiple repairs of a surface. The end result of these repairs is a multitude of varying color patches of paint which overlap one another. A similar result occurs if someone attempted to remove graffiti by water or by sand blasting. The surface of the wall would still exhibit varying shades of cement where the paint and some of the cement was removed. Other methods of graffiti removal which are currently being tried are baking soda blasting, walnut blasting and laser blasting. More indirect methods of preventing graffiti include covering the walls with ivy (real or plastic) and installing motion detectors which are used in conjunction with water sprinkles to inhibit the perpetrators of graffiti.
Another suggested means for treating a surface that has been marred by graffiti involve covering over the marks with a water based epoxy. After the epoxy is dried a top coat is applied which is designed to facilitate the removal of later applied graffiti. This method is described in a patent issued to Frank Fox et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,056.
A similar approach is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,745 issued to Robert Riddle which describes a paint composition that is applied to a surface and forms a non-stick surface. The object of the composition was to facilitate the removal of graffiti and permit the use of strong solvents.
Unfortunately, nearly all of these prior art techniques, including certain types of paint, require that the painting be done only outdoors. Some methods depend on sand blasting or water blasting to remove graffiti, while other methods include the use of volatile chemicals and solvents which may create a hazardous or a mess. The present invention is not limited to exterior areas in that it may be used to treat interior walls such as gymnasiums without creating a hazardous or a messy situation.
Solutions suggested by the prior art, as well as the traditional cover-up approach to dealing with graffiti, are cumbersome and ineffective. The human eye will still perceive that something has been applied to the wall's surface, that was not part of the original surface of the wall. In effect, the remedies to the graffiti problem are just another form of eye pollution that the eye will easily detect.
The present invention overcomes this problem of the prior art by constructing a surface that is covered with a multicolor paint applied over a color basecoat. If the surface is marred by graffiti and the area can be easily covered with a matching basecoat and then that new basecoat is covered with more multicolor paint that matches the original multicolor paint. The net effect is that the human eye will not perceive any differences between the original multicolor paint with an undercoat and the second coating of the same materials, due to the speckled or mottled nature of multicolor paint.
2. Summary of the Invention
The present invention involves the construction of a structure having one visible surface in such a manner that later attempts to cover over graffiti will be unnoticeable to the human eye. The surface is covered with a basecoat of flat paint which is coated with a multicolor paint. If graffiti should occur, the graffiti is covered over with a second basecoat that is similar in hue to the original basecoat and the second basecoat is covered with a new coat of multicolor paint that is similar in color to the original coat. The adherence of the original basecoat may be enhanced by the addition of concrete glue to the basecoat. Also, the multicolor paint may be made reflective by the addition of glass particles or glass beads to the multicolor paint. Another method of making reflective multicolor paint is to add reflective paint particles to the darker or speckled portions of the multicolor paint.
The method of constructing the invention includes preparing the surface. If the surface of the structure to be treated is adjacent to a highway, such as a concrete soundwall, a bridge, or a guardrail, then it should be pretreated for painting by one of the appropriate methods known in the art. Badly weathered or rough surfaces might require scraping, brushing or water blasting to remove any material which may later undermine paint adhesion. Once the surface has been prepared, it is then ready to be coated with a basecoat of water based paint having a pastel hue. Thereafter, a coating of multicolor paint is applied over the basecoat. The multicolor paint is chosen to be of similar hue to the basecoat with splotches of pigment that are the same color as the basecoat, but a darker shade. Upon the occurrence of defacement by graffiti, a second basecoat is applied only over the defaced portion of the exterior wall. Once the graffiti is completely coated, a second multicolor coating is applied over the second basecoat and the areas immediately surrounding the second basecoat.
One object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a structure having a visible surface which is easily repairable should it become impacted with graffiti.
Another object of the invention is the provide a structure which is cost efficient to repair.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method for construction and repair of a structure which is safe and time sufficient.
The novel features of construction and operation of the invention will be more clearly apparent during the course of the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein has been illustrated a preferred form of the structure of the invention and wherein like characters of reference designate like components throughout the drawings.